First published 1995
Jim Messenger works as a CPA but despises every minute of it. He finds solace in jazz music and frequent visits to the Harmony Cafe, where he becomes fixated on a woman he watches eat alone. She never notices him watching. When news breaks that the woman has killed herself, Messenger cannot let it go. He needs to understand what drove her to suicide. His investigation pulls him deeper into her world and forces him to examine his own empty existence. The search for answers becomes something larger for Messenger. He must confront who he has become and decide what kind of man he wants to be. His pursuit of the truth about a stranger transforms into a journey of self discovery.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Harmony Cafe
Period: 20th-century
207 pages · Hardcover · Walker & Company
Content warnings: suicide